The RCMP Leads Canada in a Misogynistic Approach to Canadian Policing

First of a Five Part Series – Here is Why

When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau launched a national inquiry on murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls, he raised the hopes of Indigenous families and communities that they would finally get concrete action to end police racism and neglect in investigating the rapes, murders and disappearances.

Canada has endured some incredibly misogynistic policing.Boys will be boys must be the mantra of the GRC/RCMP, the most bumbling organization of male chauvinist clowns that ever yelled at a woman. From inside the RCMP the few women there say the organization doesn’t trust them; criticizes women; believes women are incapable; sexually harasses women; criticizes their work; restricts their operations; and occasionally rapes them (called sexual assault in Canada).

It can safely be said that attitudes in Canadian policing are lead by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and as a consequence Canada has an atrocious rape culture and an abysmal record on prosecuting rapists.

Rapists in Canada, many within the RCMP, have come to expect impunity. Supporting that theory, Toronto Police Services lecturer in 2012 at Osgood Hall told students that if they don’t want to get raped, “don’t dress like a slut” thus outlining the fact that Canadian Policing on “sexual assault” is based on the belief that women cause their own rapes by dressing like sluts. That put TheRINJ Foundation and some 2000 women on the street protesting in what became the first “Slut Walk” in the world

We will be talking about the 2010 Pitt Meadows Case which caused the grass-roots (Rape is no Joke) RINJ-Campaign to formalize and morph into the global civil society group known today as The RINJ Foundation.

We will share what our investigators discovered about the outrageous handling of the Rehtaeh Parsons Case.

We will show you similar case comparisons of police work and sentencing for convicted rapists in Canada and in the United States.

The Rape and Murder of Indigenous Canadians – The Worst of Gender-Based Violence

According to Professor Pamela Palmeter of Mi’kma’ki, New Brunswick, Canada, “The federal government was headed in the right direction as they promised to work in partnership with Indigenous families, experts and advocates to write the terms of reference. The “engagement sessions” showed a strong desire by most involved to investigate the handling (or mishandling) by police of homicides and disappearances as well as reports of abusive police behaviour.”

Four days ago I had to raise an eyebrow when Breen Ouellette, a citizen of the Métis Nation and a Canadian lawyer, announced on the eve of Canada Day 2018 that he has resigned from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Mr. Ouellette was employed as Commission Counsel for the National Inquiry. Read: 2018.06.30-Breen Ouellette Resignation Annoucement

Sexual Assault + Other Misconduct By Police – Human Rights Watch

1) 2013 – The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in northern British Columbia has failed to protect indigenous women and girls from violence, Human Rights Watch said in a report released in 2013. Women and girls Human Rights Watch interviewed also described abusive treatment by police officers, including excessive use of force, and physical and sexual assault. Read the full report from HRW, 2013: Canada2013-HRW

Establish an independent special investigation unit in the province for reported incidents of serious police misconduct, including rape and other forms of sexual assault. This mechanism should be independent and civilian in nature with the authority to conduct systemic investigations. Within the unit, there should be a specialized division, with staff who have expertise and specialized training in responding to violence against women, to investigate allegations of physical and sexual assault by police.

Canada is not such a big country in population but enormous in size. Most of it is in remote regions with little connection and even less interest from the rest of the world. It’s cold. It’s isolated. Some of it is lawless. And you can get away with murder.

That is whyThe RINJ Foundation Women believe that many missing and murdered indigenous Canadian girls were raped and murdered by RCMP police in outposts where indigenous women are marginalized and RCMP men in these remote, forgotten locations believe that these women are their entitled compensation booty of the otherwise painful and lonely remote posting. Just talking to them as a woman gives me an overwhelming awareness of arrogance and entitlement that is creepy-scary at best.

If a quantum of gender-based dysfunction were possible, probably the two most misogynistic institutions in the world that would top the list would be the Islamic State and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

For decades, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has struggled with the problem of workplace harassment, bullying, intimidation and sexual harassment. Independent reviews, surveys, media reports and lawsuits have all highlighted the degree to which these significant and pervasive problems infect RCMP workplaces, and the damage that can result. There has also been no shortage of solutions proposed. In the past decade alone, over 15 reviews have been conducted of the RCMP and its organizational culture, identifying a dizzying array of more than 200 recommendations for reform. Unfortunately, few have been implemented. Civilian Review and RCMP Complaints Commission(Download the Report)

In a class action harassment suit that resulted in an online process for filing sexual harassment claims against the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, there are now 3131 claims filed.

The Merlo Davidson class action sought financial compensation for female, current and former, living Regular Members, Civilian Members and Public Service Employees who worked within the RCMP from September 16, 1974 to May 30, 2017, and who experienced gender and/or sexual orientation based harassment and discrimination while working in the RCMP, and ​who have not opted out or are not deemed to have opted out of the Class Action.

Finding No. 1: Abuse of authority remains a significant problem within the RCMP. Such behaviours are harmful not only to the individual who is being targeted, but also to the integrity of investigations, the efficiency of operations, and the effectiveness of the organization as a whole.

Finding No. 2: The RCMP has failed to introduce the sustained and comprehensive measures necessary to address the problem of harassment in the Force. While some divisional programs have been created, these have been limited and ad hoc. There has been no effort by National Headquarters to monitor their effectiveness, roll out best practices, or institutionalize reform.

Finding No. 3: Given the RCMP‘s poor track record of implementing change, strong civilian oversight and government leadership are required to ensure sustained reform.

Finding No. 4: The multiplicity of factors that are outlined in the definition of harassment, combined with the directions set out in the RCMP‘s Guidebook, create a context in which decision makers are likely to consider irrelevant factors. This could result in the dismissal of an otherwise meritorious complaint.

Finding No. 5: The Office for the Coordination of Harassment Complaints, as currently constructed, is carrying out a useful but limited role.

Finding No. 7: The division of roles and responsibilities between the investigator and the decision maker in harassment complaints is inappropriate and creates the potential for arbitrariness in harassment decisions.

Finding No. 8: Decision makers routinely apply the wrong legal tests and take into account irrelevant and prejudicial considerations. These errors almost invariably operate to the detriment of the complainant and may result in complaints being unfounded.

Finding No. 9: Training for decision makers remains inadequate.

Recommendations

Recommendation 1: That the Minister direct the RCMP to professionalize elements of the RCMP organizational structure by recruiting civilian experts for non-operational roles, including at the senior levels in the areas of human resources and labour relations.

Recommendation 2: That the RCMP foster a leadership culture by introducing promotional criteria that recognize management skills, and by instituting more rigorous, mandatory leadership development programs for all existing and newly appointed supervisors, managers and executive officers, including appropriate university-level courses.

Recommendation 3: That the Minister of Public Safety take immediate steps to effect cultural change in the RCMP by modernizing its governance structure to introduce civilian governance and/or oversight and to enhance accountability.

Recommendation 4: That the RCMP adopt a simplified definition of harassment in its harassment policies, consistent with the approach adopted by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and other Canadian jurisdictions, to facilitate the investigation and resolution of valid complaints of harassment.

Recommendation 5: That the RCMP develop clear and streamlined harassment policy documents, in plain language, and that these be available on its external website.

Recommendation 6: That the RCMP institute in-person harassment training, conducted by trained and qualified experts, on a regular basis. Specialized training should also be mandatory for all existing as well as newly appointed supervisors, managers and executive officers on a continuous basis.

Recommendation 7: That the RCMP revise its harassment policies and procedures to allow Divisional Commanding Officers the discretion to screen complaints to determine if a prima facie case of harassment has been made out, applying an appropriately broad and simplified definition of harassment.

Recommendation 8: That the RCMP retain skilled, competent, and dedicated administrative investigators (not uniformed members), who are independent of the chain of command, to conduct harassment investigations.

Recommendation 9: That the RCMP amend its harassment policies and procedures to mandate the investigator to make findings with respect to issues of credibility and whether or not the harassment policies have been breached, and to report these findings to the decision maker; and to mandate the decision maker to decide whether or not to accept the investigator’s findings and to make decisions with respect to whether any remedial and/or disciplinary measures should be imposed.

Recommendation 10: That the RCMP ensure that Divisional Commanding Officers receive ongoing, classroom-based training on decision-making, specifically in relation to the assessment of workplace harassment complaints, including with respect to the appropriate legal tests to be applied, and stereotypes relating to the conduct of victims of harassment.

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